Pieces of My Heart
by My Sanctification
Summary: Because Claire cannot hold a job or understand the language, she is encouraged to have an arranged marriage. In the mean time, the house is falling apart, Ebisu is teaching her Japanese, and Derrek is stressing to pay the bills.
1. Chapter 1

Pieces of My Heart

Chapter One

"**What do you **_**mean**_** I have to get married?!" Claire's anger began to flare.**

"**Well, the economy is getting pretty bad and …" Her younger counterpart began to explain.**

"**Like **_**hell**_**! Konoha is one of the most flourishing nations in the world!"**

"**What I'm trying to say is …" Zoey said, trying to calm her down. "You can't hold a job for very long because you don't understand the language."**

"**Darn right I don't understand the language!"**

"**And if you keep losing jobs we won't be able to make any money for a tutor. It'd be best if you hooked up with somebody who **_**knows**_** both Japanese and English."**

"_**Hook up **_**with somebody? Someone I've never met -- someone I don't even know?" Claire snorted, her nostrils flaring. "What if I marry someone who doesn't have the same religion that I do? What do I do if they're Muslim? What do I do then? Just **_**obey**_** every command and just **_**take**_** every bit of abuse?"**

"**There **_**aren't**_** any Muslims here in Konoha, Claire." Zoey poked her friend in the forehead before sitting down with her. "In fact, I don't think any of our world religions exist here. Sure, there might be some that are similar but I don't think they're to the detriment of women or individuals. I mean, you've watched a lot of anime. You're a Japanophile, you should know all this stuff."**

"**I'm **_**not**_** the Otaku. Derrek is." Claire sighed, her shoulders sinking. She bobbed her head for a bit then just let it rest.**

"**Then you should ask Derrek what he thinks. I bet you a hundred dollars that he would think arranged marriage would be good, too."**

"**But why me?" **

"**Don't be so selfish. I mean, if you marry a really rich guy then we would **_**all**_** have it made. Not just you." Zoey smiled lazily. "Come **_**on**_**, you don't have to love him. You **_**could**_** at least accept all the gifts he gives you."**

"**I'm going to have to think about this. I'll have to weigh the pros and cons. I'll let you to know tomorrow what my decision is. How much are arranged marriages, anyway?"**

"**We'll have to call somebody tomorrow and ask. There isn't a lot of money to spare, though. We could probably get a waiver since we're low income. How does that sound?"**

"**If this is such a good idea then why aren't **_**you**_** getting married, Zoey?" Claire frowned, pouting her lips quite a bit.**

"**Because you have to be over the age of eighteen to do it. I'm only sixteen. If I could then I would but you know I wouldn't make a good wife simply because I'm ostentatious, rebellious, and loud. Most men seeking arranged marriage would want their wives to be quiet and obedient and that fits you perfectly! You're as docile as a duck."**

"**And **_**you **_**as docile as a gander." Claire said sarcastically. **

"**Okay. Then it's set. We'll talk about this tomorrow." Zoey nodded her head, getting up from her seat. "I have to go out and train for the next lesson tomorrow. You keep your head on straight and I'll see you at dinner."**

"**Have a good time, Zoey." **

"**I'll see you later," The young girl kissed Claire's cheek. "Love you."**

"**I love you too," She kissed the other's cheek in return. **

***~*~*~***

**Claire stood there in front of the sink, scrubbing away at pan they'd used for the noon meal. It swished around bubbles in the water as she washed it. The radio was on in the background. It wasn't that loud, though. It was just as she'd liked it. Soft jazz music permeated the room. **

**While her hands were dipped in the water, cleaning the pan, she thought back to her adolescence. It'd been seven years since she'd moved out of Derrek's house. She was out of that house as soon as she turned eighteen. She'd gotten a stable job working at the library. She was able to pay her own bills. Buy her own food. Drive her own car. Things were much simpler then, weren't they? **

**Sure, she had her own independence but what was life like without her best friends? She thought back to high school. Before senior year Derrek had dropped out and enrolled in an alternative school. It wasn't because his grades were failing; no, it wasn't that. It was because he couldn't get along with his peers. There were one too many assholes attending that school. They'd often pick on her but Derrek was always there to defend her. But since then they dropped out and never returned. It seemed almost coincidental how all these things happened at the same time.**

**Soon enough, she'd graduated from high school. Even though she was offered many scholarships, she didn't take them right away. The first thing she wanted to do after graduation was move out into an apartment of her own. And with working long hours on the job, she managed to do just that.**

**For a short while she waited tables at the local Meat N' Malt with Derrek's mother, Sonya. When she finally got enough money to move out, she took a risk and applied for a job at the public library. She believed God must have had destined for her to have that job because she loved it and it paid really well. **

**She took a long break after high school. She didn't apply for college until she was about twenty-three-years-old. Of course, by then all the scholarships would have expired but she didn't care. She applied for financial aid and got help paying for books and tuition with that. However, with the extra money she made at her place of employment, she managed to pay most of the costs. **

**Eventually, she graduated from the community college and transferred to a four year university. By the time she was transported into Konoha, she would've been a Junior at the university. **

**See, Claire isn't from Konoha. She isn't a ninja and she clearly can't speak Japanese that well. Claire, Derrek, and Zoey are from the United States. They can't exactly explain how they got from there to Konoha. All the know is that they bought some graphic novels from the bookstore and somehow got zapped into this strange world. **

**It was easy for Derrek to get along in this place because he was already taking Japanese classes at the community college. Zoey, however, played everything by ear so she learned the language very quickly. Claire -- not so much luck. She couldn't understand anything about it. It was strange for her because she knew both Spanish and English. Not from taking classes for it either.**

**Her parents were Mexican and had to learn English to live in America. Her mother died when Claire was at the tender age of sixteen of cervical cancer. There wasn't a funeral because all of her relatives were poor and lived in Mexico and that Claire's father had squandered all of the insurance money. **

**So she buried her mother in a wooden box that she had put together herself. There wasn't a visitation and there wasn't a funeral. Nobody showed up except Claire. She remembered sitting on her grave for hours just crying and cursing her greedy alcoholic father. **

**She'd made up her mind and called Derrek.**

**That night she'd packed what little belongings she'd had and a few momentos of her mother and ran away to live with Derrek and his family, leaving her drunken father behind. She still hasn't talked to him to this day.**

**The biggest reason she'd turned to Derrek instead of the State was because she did not want to end up in foster care. That was the last place she wanted to be. She felt much safer with people she'd known. **

**Even though she lived with Zoey and her family, she still went to the Catholic church she grew up in.**

**After she'd turned seventeen she was excommunicated from the Church because she openly stated that she did not believe in worshipping the saints, going to confession, and that she believed in prophesying and speaking in tongues.**

**Since this happened, she'd traveled around looking for a church that would embrace her and her beliefs. She wanted to meet people who believed that Jesus Christ was the way into heaven and not worshipping Mary or the saints.**

**The first time Claire had met Derrek was on a school bus. They were Sophmores in high school at the time. It was before he'd dropped out. She wasn't very popular or considered pretty by her peers so whenever she'd ask for a place to sit down everyone would reject her. That was, until she met Derrek.**

"**May I please sit with you?" She asked nicely. Shyly, he turned to her and nodded.**

"**Yes -- Yes you can."**

**From there on out they became best friends.**

**It was he that introduced to her to anime and Japanese culture. At first she was a little leery about it but when she watched her very first anime movie she was hooked. Being an artist, she adapted her style to that of manga which greatly impressed Derrek.**

**While Clare dished out dojinshi after dojinshi, Derrek was busy writing fan fiction. Zoey had attempted to get involved but she wasn't ever able to keep up. She constantly misquoted anime, made out-of-date references and always managed to make her brother, and anime in general, look bad.**

**They had been in Konoha for two years, making their arrival a year after Naruto left with Jiraiya. For a long while there, they were living in a shelter they'd had there. It took them a year before they saved up enough money to move. Since they didn't have bad credit they were eligible for loan to put on a mortgage. However, they needed a co-signer to get it.**

**Leave it to Zoey to bump into Ebisu in a rather humorous fashion and get him to co-sign. She never did tell the entire story of what **_**really**_** happened. **

**Ever since then they've seen a lot of him and his team. Since the house they leased was a dump anyway, Ebisu and his squad had made frequent visits to repair it. In the mean time, Derek was working, Claire made several attempts to keep jobs, and Zoey was in the ninja academy. **

**Derek enjoyed his job very much. He worked at the bookstore always selling manga to Udon or kicking Konohamaru out for looking through the 'sexy' magazines.**

**For a short time, Claire worked at the bookstore. She also worked at Ichiraku Ramen, in the market place, on a farm, housekeeping, babysitting, and running errands. What was the most challenging was not only her inexperience but lack in language skills. When it came to English she had superior intellect. When it came to Japanese she had the comprehension level of a four-year-old. So, the only person she ever talked to outside of the family was Ebisu because he spoke both Japanese and English.**

**Claire thought it would be easy learning Japanese because she knew both Spanish and English. Boy, was she ever wrong. **

**There was an incident at one of her jobs that she'd messed up so badly. Later, she learned, she wasn't humiliated at what **_**she'd **_**done wrong. It was actually the **_**children**_** of the house that had caused such a ruckus. But at the time, she didn't know this. She thought that the chaos that had been brought outside was her fault. **

**The washing machine had too much soap in it so it flooded the laundry room. The vacuum was sucking up a curtain from its window. The radio from the children's bedrooms were blasting. The kids were dancing around her, tormenting her, yelling at her. The food in the kitchen was burning and the smoke detector had went off. There was a broken window because one of the children had thrown a ball through it. She was busy trying to do all these things at once that she had literally confused and frightened herself. **

**When the lady of the household had come home she'd found it in utter chaos. She was so angry that she started yelling and screaming at Claire in a language she didn't understand. The woman had pushed her out the front door, swearing at her. All Claire could do was crouch down, hold her head, begin crying, and yell:**

"**Nihongo ja nai! Nihongo ja nai!" Which was her best attempt at saying "I don't know Japanese!"**

**She'd made such a spectacle f herself that it had gathered a crowed. Everyone in the neighbourhood, including Ebisu, witnessed this. So, now, whenever she passes people they always snicker and imitate her "Nihongo ja nai". **

**Although the kids in Team Ebisu occasionally laugh or joke about it, they are swiftly scolded by their sensei. **

**Claire often feels bad that she can't hold a job for long. It wasn't just the language barrier that prevented her from keeping one -- it was just that she's not good at much of anything. She was an intellectual. She was made for studying and teaching. Not all this other stuff. **

**With a sigh, she rinsed off the last of the plates and set them up to dry. Turning around, she leaned against the countertop, placing her hands in her apron pockets. Maybe having an arranged marriage would be a good idea. After all, she couldn't exactly take good care of herself, could she? She didn't want her entire independence taken away from her, though. After all, the marriage would probably be temporary, anyway. **

**Why? Because they had to find a way home, that's why!**

**Of course it was her childhood dream to fall in love and get married. That's all she'd ever wanted to do with her life. After reading all of those romances -- watching all of those romantic comedies. . . It **_**had**_** to be the ultimate life experience. But she knew that such things may not exist. So, she would just settle. She wouldn't marry out of love but out of duty to her new family. That was her choice. She **_**would**_** have an arranged marriage. **

**The door bell would have rung if it weren't broken. So, instead, she heard a knock at the door. After drying her hands off, she left the kitchen for the foyer. **

**She stepped up on her tippy-toes to look through the peep hole. **_**Ugh**_**. It was **_**Ebisu**_**. What could he possibly want? She thought they'd already discussed payment for all the work they'd done to the house. Okay, maybe he found out she lied about paying the tab within a week. It would be more like a month before she could pay it. But how would he know? Was that really what he was there for? With that, she opened the door and smiled, pretending to be stupid. **

"**Hey, there, Ebisu. What brings you here?" Her smile was very noticeably fake. He slid past the door and into the foyer.**

"**I need to talk to you about something," He managed to say. Claire noticed that his voice was somewhat shaky. **

"**Is there something wrong?" She blinked.**

"**Oh -- Oh no. Nothing's the matter, I just…" **

"**You just **_**what**_**?" She raised a brow.**

"**What are you doing this Friday night?" He asked, staring at her through his black spectacles. Her eyes widened a bit and she tried to keep a straight face. Was he asking her out on a date?**

"**Um.. I'll have to check my schedule but I think I'm free." Oh God, here it comes. Icky Ebisu is going to ask her on a date. Thinking about it a little, her gaze lowered and a light blush crossed her face.**

"…**I've been thinking about this for a while now,"**

**Her eyes rose again, "About what?"**

"**I think I need to teach you how to speak Japanese."**

**Inside of her a mirror cracked in half -- shattered by disappointment. But over what? This **_**was**_** Icky Ebisu, after all. **

"**Ebisu, you know we don't have enough money for tha--"**

"**No, no. I'll do it for free."**

"**For **_**free**_**?"**

"**Yes -- for free."**

"**Wow, uh…" He stared deep into her brown eyes. She didn't know how intensely he was looking at her because he'd worn sunglasses all the time. "Around what time on Friday?"**

"**Six o'clock, perhaps."**

"**Well, you're welcome to eat dinner with us before we start."**

"**Right, right. I'll be here." He smiled, which was something he didn't often do. "At six."**

**She nodded. He nodded. Politely, he bowed and she copied. With couple other nods, he left.**

**Slowly, she closed the door behind him. What was she **_**thinking**_**!? There was no way Icky Ebisu would ask her on a date. She must've been **_**crazy**_** to think that he would even want such a thing. Ebisu was independent. A lone wolf. And sometimes she wondered if he loved anyone other than himself.**

**How unpredictable this afternoon has become.**


	2. Chapter 2

Pieces of My Heart

Chapter Two

**The evening came and went exactly how she'd planned it. Zoey returned, exhausted from her training. Derrek didn't show up until very late. Claire had assumed he was out with one of his new lovers. It seemed he found a new man nearly every other day. **_**His**_** excuse for his promiscuity was that if a man didn't ejaculate very much then he is much more likely to commit suicide after a short while. She knew it was bull. Zoey probably did too but she didn't make any comments about any knowledge of the matter.**

**Morning had finally come. It was one of her favorite times of day because she could sit outside and have her coffee without anyone bothering her. Occasionally, she'll find kids walking outside that waved at her. Kindly, she always waved back. In all honesty, Claire was a pretty quiet and soft spoken person. She was very shy around people that weren't in her family circle. Even though Ebisu had become a good friend to them, she still had a hard time saying anything to him. She was afraid of either insulting him or just not making sense. When it came to him she would stutter and stammer all around. **

**After Zoey was gone she changed into her kimono. It was purple with tiny pink flowers on it. She didn't call it a kimono, though; she called it a moo-moo. Just with the way it was designed it reminded her of those silk dresses her mother would always wear in the morning or on weekends. **

**The sun was rising higher in the sky as she swept off the porch. As she swept, she held onto a string of green prayer beads. The cross dangled down, moving each and which way as she continued on. Quietly, she sang to herself.**

_**Savior**_

_**He can move the mountains**_

_**My God is might to save**_

_**He is mighty to save**_

**Behind her on the ground beside the porch a man stood, just watching her quietly. He leaned against the banister as he listened to her.**

_**Forever**_

_**Author of salvation**_

_**He rose and conquered the grave**_

_**Jesus conquered the grave**_

**He smiled, having listened to her sing many songs like this one. "So, exactly who are you talking about when you sing like that?"**

**Claire squeaked as her body darted straight up. Quickly, she turned to see who it was. With a sigh of relief, she realized who he was. "Oh, Ebisu!" She cried, "Don't scare me like that."**

**She held the prayer beads close to her heart, and the broom at her side.**

"**Well?"**

"**Oh -- The song?" She blinked a little bit, clearing her throat. The fright had caught her voice as well. "..I'm just worshipping the Lord, is all."**

"**The Lord?" He rose a brow.**

"**Oh, you know, Jesus?" He stayed silent, staring at her. It almost creeped her out because she couldn't tell what expression he had because of those sunglasses he wore all the time. They were still for short while.**

"…**." He frowned.**

"**Well, come inside. I believe we need to study the Bible a little." She gave a genuine smile motioning for him to come inside. Ebisu climbed the stairs and followed her.**

"**Bible? What's that?" **

"**Oh," She started, "It's a book of holy scriptures."**

"**Scriptures?"**

"**Writings inspired by God."**

"**You mean like writings inspired by Buddha?"**

"**Honey, Buddha's dead in his grave. Christ is alive and well at the side of the Father."**

"**The Father?"**

"**We have a lot to cover, don't we?" By this time they'd already walked through the house and into the living room. "Well, let me get my concordance real quick."**

"**Hmm," She said to herself, flipping through her Bible. "Here's a very popular verse that I think everyone has heard. It's John 3:16; 'For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.'"**

"**That sounds strange." Ebisu stated, "Does the 'everlasting life' part refer to Nirvana?"**

"**No, it means Heaven." **

"**But isn't the way to Heaven or whatever to do good with your life?"**

"**Doing good is great and all but it's not the way into Heaven."**

"**Are you serious?" He snorted, "Then what is the way to Heaven?"**

"**Just let me read a little bit more to you. You might understand with the next couple of passages," She sunk into her seat on the couch with him sitting next to her. "Okay, here it is in Romans 3:21 through 25; 'But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the Glory of God; Whom God hath sent forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remissions of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God."**

"**Remission of sins? What's that supposed to mean?" He leaned in, trying to peek into her Bible. Or perhaps it was to get closer to her, she wasn't sure.**

"**Do you know the story of original sin?"**

"**I know that everyone sins. I don't know of the beginning of sin, though."**

"**Okay. We need to read through some of Genesis, then. When do you have to meet your Team?"**

"**I don't have to meet them until tomorrow. Today's an off day, so I have plenty of time."**

"**Right.." She flipped through her Bible all the way back to Genesis. "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep . . ."**

**So they went through the creation of the earth and the fall of Adam. Through that original sin was explained to Ebisu. Then she flipped back to the New Testament and told him about Jesus the Christ and how he was the salvation for the remission of sins. **

"**So, basically," She explained, "You're in a courtroom. God is the judge. Satan is the prosecutor. Jesus is your lawyer. Satan has a list of all the bad, horrible things you've done. Obviously, you're guilty and don't deserve to get into heaven. Then that's where Christ steps in; he comes and says to the judge, 'Yes, Ebisu did commit all of these crimes but his debt has been paid in full.'"**

"**Really? How was it paid?"**

"**Christ took all our sins upon himself as he was crucified on the cross."**

"**So he died for our sins so that we would have a way into heaven?" He blinked.**

"**Bingo." Claire smiled warmly at him. **

"**Do you have another copy of that book?"**

"**I have one that I bought for Derrek but he hasn't touched the thing. I think he's Atheist but didn't have the heart to reject the gift I got for him. Here, I'll go get it for you and you can take it with you." Claire got up from her seat and disappeared into the other room. A moment or two passed by before she came back in. It was a plain black Bible with golden letters encrusted on the front saying, "Holy Bible". **

**In all seriousness she asked, "Have you ever wished that a book with all the answers would just fall out of the sky?"**

"**Ha! Who hasn't?" **

"**Well, this is the book with all the answers in it." Claire sat back down next to him. She crossed one leg and turned toward him.**

"**You know, I really enjoy the time we spend together." He stated. This, of course, made Claire blush. She stared down at the open Bible sitting in her lap. There really wasn't anything else she **_**could**_** say. She didn't think that there was **_**any**_** appropriate response to that. That was when she realized that she still had the prayer bead necklace wrapped around her hand. She'd been holding it the entire time without thought.**

"**Yeah," She squeaked. Before she was able to finish her sentence she could hear the screen door slam shut. Both of their heads turned in that direction.**

"**Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know. I'll clean my room!" Came a familiar voice. Zoey stomped her way up the stairs. There was nothing soft or delicate about her. She was Miss Rough all the way around. **

**With a sigh of relief Claire said, "It's only Zoey. She'll be vacuuming her room with those loud head phones in her ears. It'll blast the hearing right out of her, I swear."**

**Ebisu chuckled. **

***~*~*~***

**It happened about a year ago but he remembered it like yesterday. Ebisu had experienced one of the most humiliating things in his life. And he intended keeping it a secret, too. Unfortunately, he was under the control of a certain curly-haired brunette.**

**Konohamaru tapped his foot against the wooden floor, looking around blankly. He was standing there with his comrades. They'd just finished the day's assignment and their sensei was no where to be seen. It wasn't like him to not be present. The child was a little worried. He didn't know if his teacher had hurt himself or worse. **

"**Where is your sensei?" Tsunade sat behind the desk, going over the report. She scrolled it open, reading it. "It's not in Ebisu's character to be late."**

"**I, uh.. I.." Konohamaru was embarrassed for Ebisu. "I honestly don't know where he ran off to."**

**In the mean time, there was a certain somebody sitting behind a bush, peeping in through the holes of the fence into the women's bath. It was the perfect summer day. A perfect day for peeping. **

**However, it wasn't Jiraiya. Our perpetrator sneezed, causing the bush around him to rustle. He rubbed the bottom of his nose, wondering who was talking about him. He sniffled somewhat, trying to hold in the fact that he was about to have a major nosebleed. **

"**Baka-megane!" Konohamaru cried out. **_**Baka-megane **_**would roughly translate into 'idiot-glasses' or 'four-eyes'. "Where the **_**hell**_** is he?" **

**His sneezes got louder. **_**Who could be talking about me? **_**That was when he couldn't hold it in any longer. The last thing he saw on the other side of the fence was a woman dropping her towel, revealing every luscious curve. A giant gush of blood shot out of his nose. Though, it wasn't that that caused the fences to fall over. He'd gotten so lightheaded at he stood up and fell over into the wood. **

**Managing to keep his balance, he couldn't stop his forehead from hitting the fence. It was his very hitai-ate head band that had betrayed him. And all in a domino effect, the fences fell over one by one. All the women grabbed their towels, screaming, and ran around trying to find a place to hide.**

**Luckily for Ebisu, he managed to use a smoke bomb to disguise his identity. He skidaddled out of the area and ran the other direction. **

**Without taking a thought of the commotion at the bath house, Zoey raced down the road. She was wearing her best outfit -- A white button-up dress shirt and a pleated skirt. She wasn't too sure what the dress code was for being registered in the ninja academy but she figured that she should treat it like a job interview. Be polite. Look polite. And for heaven's sake, don't blow it!**

"**There's no way I'm going to miss this!" She cried to herself, "I can't believe my alarm didn't wake me up. It's nearly the last hour to enroll. I **_**have**_** to get this! If I'm going to become a medic-nin then I **_**have**_** to get this!"**

**Closer and closer they became. Ebisu had lost so much blood that he couldn't really see what was in front of him. Zoey, however, didn't care what was in front of her. She would just plow through whatever was in her way. She wasn't about to miss this event even if it would cost her life!**

_**BAM! **_

They collided together -- forehead to forehead.

"Oh, _maaaan_…" Zoey muttered to herself as she fell backwards, landing on the ground. The man before her fell to his knees, holding onto his bleeding forehead. His hitai-ate band had come loose and fell off. He looked up from the ground, hoping to meet her gaze. Instead, he noticed that she lied there, spread eagle, revealing the panda bear panties just beneath her skirt. Once she noticed where he was looking, she lifted up her hand up into the air and swung it at him full force. "ECCHI!"

_**SLAP! **_

"You _pervert_!" She hopped up to her feet, pointing at him accusingly. "_**YOU OWE ME**_."

"What do you mean I owe -- OH! ITAI-ITAI-ITAI~!" Zoey had lifted him up from his knees by pulling on his earlobe.

"Let me guess --" She continued on, "I bet you're the idiot that knocked down the fence to the women's bath."

Ebisu gave a clear frown. It was more than enough for Zoey to know. "You can do that entire ninja 'leap-through-the-air' move, right?"

His frown deepened. She picked up his forehead protector and with a nod she hopped onto his back and pulled harder on his ear. "Take me to the ninja academy! I need to enroll before they close the registration table!"

He gritted his teeth, reached behind him to hold her, and leapt into the air toward their destination.

From then on, Zoey had always had him 'by the ear', per se. He remembered seeing her when her, Derek, and Claire had first come to Konoha. He couldn't keep his gaze off of Claire since then. She was one of the most beautiful women he'd seen to date.

He did the same thing with Zoey as he did Naruto. He promised to treat her to anything she liked as long as she didn't say anything about what had transpired. She still hasn't taken up his offer, always threatening to tell Claire about his perverted escapades.

*~*~*~*

That week went by faster than what she expected. Friday evening already and Ebisu came by much earlier than what was scheduled. It wasn't that she minded, it was the conversation that Zoey and Derrek were having that bothered her. Derrek made several sexual comments about the wonderful night he had with his lover to his sister, grossing her out.

"This isn't good conversation at the table, you two." Claire scolded, chopping up vegetables on her new cutting board. Several of the kitchen utensils were a house warming gift from Ebisu. She gave Derrek a stern eye. "That especially means _you_."

"Aww," Derek smirked, "Afraid I'll burn those virgin ears of yours?"

"It isn't appropriate at all, especially in front of company."

"I'll bet you fifty dollars," He pointed the spatula at Zoey, "That Claire here is a virgin."

"There's no bet. I agree with you!"

Claire blushed somewhat, thankful that she was facing _away_ from their guest. "I said to _drop it_!"

"And Ebisu," Zoey commented, "Definitely _is_ a virgin. It's written all over him!"

"What did I say?" Claire was starting to get angry, chopping the vegetables faster now. Ebisu responded by shifting in his seat, biting his lower lip. He didn't want to say anything to further flare Claire's anger. That was when she yelped and dropped the knife. "Ow!"

"Oh my God, Claire -- are you okay?" Zoey dropped what she was doing and turned on the faucet for her to run her bleeding hand under.

"I guess I'm okay. It just stings." She brought her hand out and turned around to find something to wrap it with. She bumped into Ebisu who already had a cloth ready for her. Claire held out her hand for him as he gently wrapped the clean dish towel around her wound.

"You can depend on me." Is all he said as he applied pressure onto the cloth. Claire bit her lower lip, just watching him. Then he gave an order to her younger sister: "Go finish chopping up the vegetables, Zoey."

"I'll take care of the cooking," Derrek offered. He was at a crossroads right now. He wasn't sure whether or not he should feel bad about making those innuendos and making fun of her and Ebisu. So, he just kept quiet and had his head down for the rest of the evening.

They ate a peculiar meal, in Ebisu's opinion. To Claire, however, it was a taste of home. She'd blended many spices to recreate what they called taco seasoning. They ate their meal on soft tortilla shells. Instead of buying them at the market( because they didn't have any ) she made them herself. They were yellow because they were made out of corn meal instead of flour. Her mother always told her that corn tortillas were much healthier than the flour ones.

The food they used for their meal was chicken, bell peppers, jalapeño peppers, mushrooms, black olives, and corn. They took those and ate them on the tortilla shells. After they'd all sat down and had prayer, she explained to Ebisu that her parents were from Mexico -- a place he'd never heard of -- and that she learned a lot of cooking from her madre and abuela.

The next night Claire would tear the shells up and use them in soup. That would be another dinner. Another story.

After her and Zoey cleaned up after dinner, they started on their Japanese. Ebisu wanted her to begin with something easy like katakana and greetings. He even went out of his way to buy her an English to Japanese dictionary, a grammar workbook, and an "Easy Japanese" cassette tape with a booklet.

They worked on it for a couple hours before calling it a night.

"Arigato, Ebisu-san." Claire managed to sputter as they stood in the doorway. Again, he smiled at her. It'd been a long time since he'd smiled this much.

"Dou ittashimashita." Her eyes lit up when he said that. "Ja ne."

"Ja ne." She nodded, closing the door behind him. What a night it had been! Perhaps in the morning she would listen to the tape as she cooked breakfast. As she cleaned the house. As she wrote out checks for the bills. As she did her everyday things. What a language it was! So confusing at first but well worth it! It wasn't a beautiful as Spanish but it would do. If she knew how to speak Japanese then she would be able to hold a good job. For now she could get another housekeeping job but she would learn the language. Oh, she would learn the language.


End file.
